Dunlap's hurting

Carlos Dunlap is an emotional wreck following arrest, suspension

Palm Beach Post
By Ben Volin

It’s not hard to imagine how Carlos Dunlap is feeling this week.

“How would anyone feel when they have the golden opportunity God has given them to be on such a platform, and then the situation is taken from you, whether it’s your own doing or not?” his father, Carlos Sr., said Thursday. “Carlos is very, very disturbed about this, but this is something the lord has placed in his hands.”

Dunlap, 20, was arrested early Tuesday morning on charges of DUI. Gainesville police officers found him slumped asleep over the wheel with his foot on the break while stopped at an intersection.

Dunlap Sr., a bail bondsman in Charleston, S.C., said everyone in the family is still in shock over the incident. Dunlap, a junior defensive end, has been a model citizen in his three years at UF, never once getting in trouble with the Florida coaching staff or legal authorities.

“I still can’t believe it. I’m still waiting for somebody to wake me up,” Carlos Sr. said. “He’s the one that kept me grounded all my life. He’s always been the one that wanted to tell everyone else what not to do, and lead by example. He’s not the kid you saw in the paper. He’s still a great kid. Somewhere, something went wrong.”

Meyer expressed similar shock on Tuesday.

“Stunning is probably a good word,” Meyer said. “Young guys make decisions all the time. This one’s a serious one.”

Dunlap Sr. said his son has been an emotional wreck since the incident. In addition to the legal charges, Dunlap, the Gators’ team leader with seven sacks and the Defensive MVP of last year’s BCS Championship Game, was suspended from this Saturday’s SEC Championship Game against Alabama.

“He’s very loving and caring, and concerned and worried about how people perceive him,” Dunlap Sr. said. “This is something we have to work out in the court of law, but in the court of love, Carlos is very torn. But he will bounce back from this. We’re a strong, surviving family.”

Dunlap loves the Florida football team too much to be anywhere near the Georgia Dome on Saturday.

He will watch the game with his family, either in Gainesville or Charleston or perhaps somewhere in Atlanta. But Dunlap knows that he needs to stay away from the team this week.

“We don’t want to do anything to hurt the University of Florida football team,” his father, Carlos Sr., said Thursday. “We love the team to death and we don’t want to be any distraction. We want to be a complement to the team, not a hindrance to the team. Our presence at the game will not be what the team needs to be focused on.”

The arrest could hurt Dunlap’s NFL draft value should he decide to leave UF after this season. Dunlap began the week as Mel Kiper’s No. 3 overall prospect, but fell to No. 17 after the incident.

But Carlos Sr. said Dunlap is only thinking about one thing right now – finishing his degree. Dunlap is on track to graduate next December.

“We came to the University of Florida for a four-year education,” Dunlap Sr. said. “He has another year in school to go. Everybody’s talking about the draft. We’re not talking about the draft. It’s never even been a thought. We as a family never even sat down and talked about leaving school.”

“My son’s job this year was what they were talking about – finish the mission.”

THX TO D-ROD for article